Vacation Reads

It's always good to bring reading material with you on a vacation. But, it's especially good when you're vacationing in a foreign country, where all the bookstores sell books that appear to be in gibberish. For my trip, I'm bringing two books: 1 long (600+ pgs.), 1 short (just shy of 200 pgs.).

The long one, Android Karenina, is a mash-up of the original Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, but with added robots. It's from the same series with the mashed-up Jane Austen books. Here's the publisher's synopsis:

As in the original novel, our story follows two relationships: the tragic adulterous romance of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the much more hopeful marriage of Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya. These four, yearning for true love, live in a steampunk-inspired 19th century of mechanical butlers, extraterrestrial-worshiping cults, and airborne debutante balls. Their passions alone would be enough to consume them-but when a secret cabal of radical scientific revolutionaries launches an attack on Russian high society's high-tech lifestyle, our heroes must fight back with all their courage, all their gadgets, and all the power of a sleek new cyborg model like nothing the world has ever seen.

The short one, The Prince of Mist, is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning book. This book was originally published in 1993 by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. However, it was not published in the U.S. until this past May, due to many legal issues between the author and publisher. Publisher's synopsis:

It's war time, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they've recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners' son, who died by drowning.

With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the strange circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called the Prince of Mist--a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden--an adventure that will change their lives forever.

When I get back from my trip (28th), I will write reviews/recommendations for these two books (If I get a chance to read them-I don't know how much reading time I will have.).

This will probably be last post before I leave for my vacation to France and Spain. So, au revoir and adios!